Berlin incident of 1797
The Berlin incident of 1797 occured near Berlin in 1797 between Prussian troops and a force of armed Jewish men led by Rabbi Harold Kushman. Kushman and a force of Jewish men armed with weapons camped outside Berlin for 2 weeks. the weapons owned were illegal. when a group of 477 Prussian troops where sent to tell Kushman to leave,Kushman and his men attacked and massacred all the soldiers. the incident was referred to by Adolf Hitler. What Led to the Incident Harold Kushman was a German Jew who was born in Hamburg,Prussia,in 1759. Kushman's brother died in the 1780 battle of Uder,a event which greatly infulenced Kushman.Kushman also studied great rabbis and heroes like Maccabees who resisted tyrants. the 1782 battle of Schmidt's also infleunced Kushman. in 1797,Kushman bought 100 guns and knives at a store in Berlin,and at a synogauge during a Sabbath Sermon he proclaimed that the Jews must take over and stop perscution. around 900 Jewish men joined Kushman and left with wagons and guns outside Berlin,camping at Broust field. The Incident Kushman and the Jews camped in the field for 1 month. the first report came in the first night when a local reported large groups of armed Jews roaming through the streets to a Prussian army officer. The Prussians sent a sergent to tell the Jews to leave,but they refused and the soldier claimed he was shot at. the Prussians got a report from a gun owner who reported a Jew who stole a gun. later the Prussians found out Kushman led over 900 armed Jews who had stolen weapons Kushman had purchased. a Prussian officer,Uder Von Braum,requested permission to negoaite with Kushman. Von Braum sent out 477 men from Berlin to talk with Kushman. The Jews had set up a wagon perimenter in the field in which all of them could camp in. The Jews spotted the Prussians and opened fire. the Prussians returned fire. after 90 minutes of shooting,8 Prussians and 3 Jews were killed. the Prussians sent up a white flag to negoiate with Kushman. Kushman ordered the Prussians to leave him and his men alone. Von Braum refused and called Kushman a son od a whore. Kushman,in return,pulled out a gun and shot one of Von Braum's men in the head point blank nearby,killing him and splattering him with blood. The Jews then started shooting Prussian troops. some Prussians grabbed their guns and fired before being overwhelmed and massacred. Von Braum fell on the ground and was approached by Kushman who said to Von Braum in Hebrew: You are not yet dead,my brother,but you soon will be so. Kushman then shot Von Braum in the head and killed him. the other Prussians were killed quickly. around 20 gatered in tall grass and fired at Jews before they too were killed. the incident was dubbed the Berlin Massacre. only 1 Prussian survived and escaped back to berlin. 2,000 Prussian troops were sent back to the area in a week to bury the dead. Kushman and his followers had dispersed. Kushman was captured by Prussian troops 2 months after the fight,and he was tried and executed in Berlin in 1799. Category:Conflicts in 1797